6.8.Â Desktop Environments

Contributed by ValentinoVaschetto.

This section describes how to install three popular desktop
environments on a FreeBSD system. A desktop environment can range
from a simple window manager to a complete suite of desktop
applications. Over a hundred desktop environments are
available in the x11-wm category of the
Ports Collection.

6.8.1.Â GNOME

GNOME is a user-friendly
desktop environment. It includes a panel for starting
applications and displaying status, a desktop, a set of tools
and applications, and a set of conventions that make it easy
for applications to cooperate and be consistent with each
other. More information regarding
GNOME on FreeBSD can be found at http://www.FreeBSD.org/gnome.
That web site contains additional documentation about
installing, configuring, and managing
GNOME on FreeBSD.

This desktop environment can be installed from a
package:

#pkg install gnome2

To instead build GNOME from
ports, use the following command.
GNOME is a large application and
will take some time to compile, even on a fast
computer.

#cd /usr/ports/x11/gnome2#make install clean

For proper operation, GNOME
requires /proc to be
mounted. Add this line to /etc/fstab to
mount this file system automatically during system
startup:

proc /proc procfs rw 0 0

Once GNOME is installed,
configure Xorg to start
GNOME. The easiest way to do this
is to enable the GNOME Display Manager,
GDM, which is installed as part of
the GNOME package or port. It can
be enabled by adding this line to
/etc/rc.conf:

gdm_enable="YES"

It is often desirable to also start all
GNOME services. To achieve this,
add a second line to
/etc/rc.conf:

gnome_enable="YES"

GDM will now start
automatically when the system boots.

A second method for starting
GNOME is to type
startx from the command-line after
configuring ~/.xinitrc. If this file
already exists, replace the line that starts the current
window manager with one that starts
/usr/local/bin/gnome-session. If this
file does not exist, create it with this command:

%echo "exec /usr/local/bin/gnome-session" > ~/.xinitrc

A third method is to use XDM as
the display manager. In this case, create an executable
~/.xsession:

6.8.2.Â KDE

KDE is another easy-to-use
desktop environment. This desktop provides a suite of
applications with a consistent look and feel, a standardized
menu and toolbars, keybindings, color-schemes,
internationalization, and a centralized, dialog-driven desktop
configuration. More information on
KDE can be found at http://www.kde.org/.
For FreeBSD-specific information, consult http://freebsd.kde.org.

To install the KDE package,
type:

#pkg install x11/kde4

To instead build the KDE port,
use the following command. Installing the port will provide a
menu for selecting which components to install.
KDE is a large application and will
take some time to compile, even on a fast computer.

#cd /usr/ports/x11/kde4#make install clean

KDE requires
/proc to be mounted. Add
this line to /etc/fstab to mount this
file system automatically during system startup:

proc /proc procfs rw 0 0

The installation of KDE
includes the KDE Display Manager,
KDM. To enable this display
manager, add this line to
/etc/rc.conf:

kdm4_enable="YES"

A second method for launching
KDE is to type
startx from the command line. For this to
work, the following line is needed in
~/.xinitrc:

exec /usr/local/bin/startkde

A third method for starting KDE
is through XDM. To do so, create
an executable ~/.xsession as
follows:

Once KDE is started, refer to
its built-in help system for more information on how to use
its various menus and applications.

6.8.3.Â Xfce

Xfce is a desktop environment
based on the GTK+ toolkit used by
GNOME. However, it is more
lightweight and provides a simple, efficient, easy-to-use
desktop. It is fully configurable, has a main panel with
menus, applets, and application launchers, provides a file
manager and sound manager, and is themeable. Since it is
fast, light, and efficient, it is ideal for older or slower
machines with memory limitations. More information on
Xfce can be found at http://www.xfce.org.

To install the Xfce
package:

#pkg install xfce

Alternatively, to build the port:

#cd /usr/ports/x11-wm/xfce4#make install clean

Unlike GNOME or
KDE,
Xfce does not provide its own login
manager. In order to start Xfce
from the command line by typing startx,
first add its entry to ~/.xinitrc:

%echo "exec /usr/local/bin/startxfce4" > ~/.xinitrc

An alternate method is to use
XDM. To configure this method,
create an executable ~/.xsession: